From flexibility to fulfilment: Exploring the mediating role of autotelic personality between cognitive flexibility and self-actualisation

Abstract

We all have the innate desire to reach our utmost potential. There must be many different ways to predispose oneself to it. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1997), forgetting oneself is the key to unlocking abilities. This study dives into a similar journey of discovering the predictors of self-actualisation. The two variables that had been sought fit after a review of literature were cognitive flexibility- the ability to adapt quickly and generate a vast array of solutions to problems whilst assuming a position of control on the situation and autotelic personality- a relatively new construct in the field of psychology that predicts a person’s proneness to flow or as some might say the ability to convert ordinary life circumstances into extraordinary. It was hypothesised that cognitive flexibility and autotelic personality would positively predict self-actualisation, and that the latter would mediate. Consequently, a sample of 213 individuals in the age range of 18-25 years was asked to fill out three questionnaires: Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI), Autotelic Personality Questionnaire (APQ) and Short Index of Self-actualisation (SISA) through a Google form. Results of regression analysis yielded that the hypotheses regarding positive predictions were true. Moreover, autotelic personality partially mediated the relationship between cognitive flexibility and self-actualisation. Further longitudinal research on the topic can yield more conclusive results. Keywords: cognitive flexibility, autotelic personality, self-actualisation, university students, flow state